Despite signing a deal with AEW several years ago, WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair has been a rare sight in the promotion. Flair was advertised to make an appearance alongside in-ring rival Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat on last night's "AEW Dynamite," but only Steamboat appeared on television. Flair was at the arena, with Dave Meltzer offering some additional information on the situation during "Wrestling Observer Radio."
"He suffered a torn rotator cuff," Meltzer said of Flair. "I believe it was from a fall, but I'm not sure exactly how he got it. But he just got it, and he went to the show, and he came out to talk to the fans. He took his arm out of his sling because he didn't, I guess, want them seeing his arm in a sling."
Meltzer was not certain that the initial plan was for Flair to appear onscreen in the Steamboat segment with FTR, but that seems likely based on references made to Flair during the promo. Based on Flair being hurt at some point recently, Meltzer was under the impression that Flair felt he couldn't go forward with the angle, which ended with Steamboat getting attacked by FTR.
"He was in a lot of pain, so he actually went home after he did his promo, which was before the show started," Meltzer continued.
Bryan Alvarez, Meltzer's co-host, shared his belief that Flair was likely set to speak quite a bit during the promo segment. Alvarez felt that Steamboat came across frantic, as if they had to re-work the segment shortly before they went out there.
Flair's last onscreen appearance in AEW took place in the lead-up to Sting's retirement in early 2024. According to Flair himself, he hasn't appeared on AEW TV due to ongoing health issues.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Wrestling Observer Radio" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
